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Notice of November Data Event

February 27, 2024 – Minuteman Senior Services (“MSS”) is issuing an update to its initial January 2023 notice of a data security event that may impact the confidentiality of information related to certain consumers. We are providing information about the event, our response, and steps potentially affected individuals may take to better protect against the possibility of identity theft and fraud, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.

What Happened? In late November of 2022, MSS identified suspicious activity related to an employee’s email account. MSS promptly undertook a thorough investigation to determine the nature and scope of the event with the assistance of cybersecurity specialists. The investigation subsequently determined the email account was accessed by an unknown individual between November 21 and November 30, 2022. Unfortunately, the investigation was unable to determine exactly which email messages or attachments may have been accessed or viewed. In an abundance of caution, a detailed and thorough programmatic and manual review of the contents of the email account was performed to determine whether sensitive information was contained with the account. This exhaustive review involved the manual assessment of thousands of documents. This was a time-intensive process, as we worked to understand to whom the information belonged and obtain the most up-to-date address information for notifications. This process was recently completed.

What Information was Involved. The types of information that may have been present in the impacted email account during the event varies by individual and could have included: full name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, diagnosis and treatment information, health insurance information, patient identification number, provider name, prescription information, and Medicare/Medicaid information.

What We are Doing. MSS takes this event and information security very seriously. Upon learning of this event, we immediately secured the impacted email account and subsequently notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and posted notice of the event on our website. As part of our ongoing commitment to the information security, we enhanced our existing policies and procedures and implementing additional administrative and technical safeguards to further secure the information in our care.

What Affected Individuals Can Do. As a precautionary measure, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing account statements, credit reports, and explanations of benefits for unusual activity and to detect errors. Any suspicious activity should be promptly reported to one’s health care provider, insurance company, or financial institution. Additional information and resources can be found below in the Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information.

For More Information. If you have additional questions, please call our dedicated toll-free assistance line at 888-814-6041 between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST. You may also write to MSS at 1 Burlington Woods, Suite 101, Burlington, MA 01803.

Steps You Can Take To Help Protect Your Information

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of your credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a one-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

  1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
  2. Social Security number;
  3. Date of birth;
  4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
  5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
  6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.); and
  7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.

 

Should you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

 

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion

Website

Website

Website

888-298-0045

1-888-397-3742

833-395-6938

Equifax Fraud Alert,
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA
30348-5069

Experian Fraud Alert,
P.O. Box 9554,
Allen, TX
75013

TransUnion Fraud Alert,
P.O. Box 2000,
Chester, PA
19016

Equifax Credit Freeze,
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA
30348-5788

Experian Credit Freeze,
P.O. Box 9554,
Allen, TX
75013

TransUnion Credit Freeze,
P.O. Box 160,
Woodlyn, PA
19094

 

Additional Information

You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General.The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. To file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 441 4th St. NW #1100 Washington, D.C. 20001; 202-727-3400; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202;1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov/.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. Fees may be required to be paid to the consumer reporting agencies. We are aware of approximately three Rhode Island residents that may be impacted by this event.